Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. To follow on from that, Brexit is overshadowing everything. I listened to the Minister of State's remarks and there is probably very little in them with which I would disagree but I have a different view from that of my colleague on my left. I am alarmed by what is contained in the non-papers. That we would have a buffer zone on both sides of the Border is extremely worrying. It is clear to me that people in the British Government are not listening to many of us in Ireland. I do not get the sense that they understand Ireland and the challenges we face, particularly in the Border areas. I do not believe they know much about the history of that area, that it is a contested area and that we have a peace process that very much needs to be nurtured. We have this ludicrous suggestion in one of the non-papers that was put forward but my worry is that they are not listening. They have not been listening up to now. I share the view that they are running down the clock and what we are facing into as a result of that. It will be a disaster for Ireland but it will also be a disaster for the people in Britain. The worry is that this is more about the next election rather than trying to get a deal with the EU and Ireland.

In terms of what we can do, the Minister of State said that this was part of the discussions, and possibly a no-deal Brexit. Does she see any weakening on the part of any of the countries in the European Union? There was some suggestion that the British Government would try to put pressure on some countries to opt out of this process. Does the Minister of State believe those countries understand Ireland? Do they realise the challenges we are facing? Is there any talk of relaxation of fiscal rules? If they accept that a no-deal Brexit will be a disaster, what flexibility will they show Ireland in the future? Are those practical issues being discussed? I do not have a disagreement with the Minister of State. If there is disagreement from the Opposition it is on the question of preparation. Do they understand that in Europe? Are we asking our European partners for A, B and C in terms of trying to mitigate against a no-deal Brexit?